38th Parallel

Turn The Tides

Delays, delays, delays. We may never truly know all the reasons record labels push back release dates, but it's usually due to a lack of money for band support or some strategic promotional tactic. Regardless, 38th Parallel's debut album has finally seen the light of day.

Stand out track "State of Mind" combines almost classic rock guitar riffs with an orchestra for a nice result, and "Horizons" has a real melodic and memorable chorus. The latter track is now being featured on Let's Roll: Together In Unity, Faith and Hope, a benefit album to honor September 11th hero Todd Beamer. Beamer rallied passengers of United Flight 93 to overtake terrorists and divert a plane believed to be headed toward The White House. Inclusion on the album is sure to garner some attention for the band.

Produced by Tony McAnany (P.O.D., Jennifer Knapp), Turn the Tides has some of the cleanest and most beautiful vocal melodies you'll hear on a rock album this year. The two lead vocalists, Nathan Rippke and Mark Jennings, sing and rap akin to 311 and Linkin Park, and they do it well.

To sum it up, they're a modern rock band (not a bad thing) with rap elements thrown in (not a great thing). But, with a huge label that can put their money where their mouth is, 38th Parallel is sure to get some exposure. [Squint/ Chad Olson]

This album review did not run in the printed version of HM (due to space limitations), and thus is an "online exclusive" of sorts. Order the Print Version of HM for tons more reviews of new albums.
©2002 HM Magazine - All Rights Reserved



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Comments


 By Jeff Heffner

I picked up this CD after hearing "Horizons" on a freebie called "Will Rock For Jesus".

Overall the quality of music and production is excellent. They come out of the gate strong with "Hear My Cry". Then...the title cut "Turn The Tides" just hammer's you. The interaction between Nathan & Mark is extremely tight. The musical element is just as tight. The guitar lines are powerful and punchy while the bass and drums are inseperable. Just when you think they may be a 1 trick poney you get "Higher Ground". Oh man...these guys can sing and harmonize too! This is a 5 star CD.